POPSUGAR Celebrity

The Rules of Feminism and More Fetch Lessons From Mean Girls

Oct 3 2014 - 9:00am

Today is Oct. 3, otherwise known as Mean Girls [1] Day — as if we needed a day dedicated to one of the best movies of our lifetime (slight exaggeration). But seriously, the hilarious film has some poignant lessons on growing up female and being true to yourself, thanks in large part to writer Tina Fey [2]. To celebrate the timelessness of Mean Girls, we're sharing our favorite lessons on womanhood inspired by the film. The quotable 2004 movie features quite a few gems about friendship, safe sex, and dating your cousin, so take a look for a good laugh!

— Additional reporting by Tara Block

Friends Don't Date Friends' Exes

"Irregardless, ex-boyfriends are just off-limits to friends. I mean, that's just like the rules of feminism."

— Gretchen

Fat Talk Is Contagious

Karen: "God, my hips are huge!"

Gretchen: "Oh please. I hate my calves."

Regina: "At least you guys can wear halters. I've got man shoulders."

Cady: "I used to think there was just fat and skinny, but apparently there's lots of things that can be wrong on your body."

Gretchen: "My hairline is weird."

Regina: "My pores are huge."

Karen: "My nail beds suck."

Cady: "I have really bad breath in the morning."

Karen: "Ew."

Safe Sex Is Crucial

"At your age, you're going to have a lot of urges. You're going to want to take off your clothes and touch each other. But if you do touch each other, you will get chlamydia . . . and die."

— Coach Carr

When in Doubt, Go '90s

Regina: "Cady, do you even know who sings this?"

Cady: "Um . . . the Spice Girls?"

Regina: "I love her. She's like a martian!"

Acting Mean Is Being Mean

"I know it may look like I was being a bitch, but that's only because I was acting like a bitch."

— Cady

Halloween Is Slut Acceptance Day

"Halloween [3] is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it."

— Cady

You Shouldn't Date Your Cousin, First or Otherwise

Karen: "You know who's looking fine tonight? Seth Mosakowski."

Gretchen: "OK, you did not just say that."

Karen: "What? He's a good kisser."

Gretchen: "He's your cousin."

Karen: "Yeah, but he's my first cousin."

Gretchen: "Right."

Karen: "So you have your cousins, and then you have your first cousins, and then you have your second cousins."

Let Your Nerd Flag Fly

Damian: "Health, Spanish . . . you're taking 12th grade calculus?"

Cady: "Yeah, I like math."

Damian: "Ew. Why?"

Cady: "Because it's the same in every country."

Damian: "That's beautiful . . . this girl is deep."

Being Mean Solves Nothing

"Calling somebody else fat won't make you any skinnier. Calling someone stupid doesn't make you any smarter. And ruining Regina George's life definitely didn't make me any happier. All you can do in life is try to solve the problem in front of you."